Jet propelled toy arrangement



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 20, 1957 all. 7

IN V EN T 0R.

z D 3% C M, 3/ B July 31, 1962 o. c. HOLDERER JET PROPELLED TOYARRANGEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 20, 1957 INVENTOR. OSCAR C.22/5/1E'Rfl4r By I United States Patent" This invention relates to jetpropelled toys and more particularly to a jet propelled toy rocket,missile or projectile and-launcher.

A feature of this invention is the provision of a et propelled toyobject, particularly a rocket type missile or projectile, and a launchertherefor, in which the launcher serves both to retain the missile orprojectile until a predetermined launching pressure is reached insidethe body thereof and to seal the connection between the nozzle ,of therocket or missile against loss of pressure through the connecting jointof the nozzle and launcher prior to release and actual launching of themissile from the launcher.

A further feature of this invention is the provision of a jet propelledtoy in which a capsule or pellet of watersoluble gas generating materialis inserted into the body of the propelled section by the launchersection of the toy, the launcher section cooperating with the nozzle ofthe propelledsection to seal and hold the propelled section thereon andagainst release therefrom prior to buildup of a predetermined pressureinside the propelled section, the propelled section then beingself-released from the launcher section and self-propelled under powerof the internal pressure and the jet of fluid material caused to beemitted from a nozzle on the propelled section due to the internalpressure.

Still a further feature of the invention is the provision of a jetpropelled toy employing a self-releasing launching arrangement whichinsures against excessive buildup of pressure Within the body of thepropelled unit and thus prevents destruction of the toy due toexplosions or body splitting, and the like, resulting from excessiveinternal pressure. I

It is still a further feature to provide a novel selfpropelled toyarrangement having a launcher section and a propelled section, in whichthe propelled section is motivated by jet action, and which employs aself-sealing and self-releasing connection between the launcher unit andthe propelled unit.

Still another feature is the provision of a reaction toy having alauncher unit and a self-propelled unit and ema ploying a self-sealingconnection between the launcher unit and self-propelled unit wherebyclose tolerances are not required for the interfitting connectingelements.

Still further features and advantages will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed descriptionof several physical embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein FIGURE 1 illustrates a preferredembodiment of my invention in the form of a rocket or missile, takenpartially in diametral section,.with the propelled unit being inretained launching position on the launching unit.

FIGURE 2 illustrates in side elevation a modified form of the invention,partially in section.

FIGURE 3 shows in side elevation a further modifica- Referring to FIGURE1, there is illustrated a selfpropelled missile arrangement including apropelled unit in the form of a hollow body it having a generally ogive(as shown) or other suitable missile shape, and formed of plastic, orother suitable material, secured therein, as by any suitable bodyingmaterial or means, depending on the material or materials employed inthe 'body 10 and plug 13. V

Formed or secured on the outer surface of body 10 for guidance and/0rstability thereof during flight are fins 16, such being preferablyformed at the rear thereof, as shown, for most'stable flight inaccordance with conventional practice. Obviously, however, the fins 16may be otherwise disposed or otherwise shaped, if desired, or may bereplaced by other stabilizing or guidance means in the event such aredesired, or may be eliminated if so desired, although such eliminationis not preferable in most instances.

. In this embodiment the hollow interior 11 of body 10 forms the fueland pressure chamber of the missile, while nodule 24 formed on alauncher 2i Launcher 20 has a base 22 and a stem 23, with nodule 24formed on the stern in spaced apart relation to base 22. Nodule 24 isspaced apart from the adjacent surface of base 22 a sufiicient distanceto permit thenodule to engage recess or groove 14 when the stem 23 isinserted into nozzle orifice 12.

Base 22 may be in any desired shape, such as being shaped with a Wideflat bottom or lower end for surface mounting and support, or pistolgrip shaped or otherwise adapted for hand support. In the illustratedexample thebase 22 has a wide flat bottom surface 25, and stem 23 isconnected to the base through a ball-andsocket swivel connection 26 fordirectionally controlled launching; I

The stem 23 is preferably substantially complementary in peripheralshape to the nozzle orifice 12; however, the employment of the uniquenodule and recess arrangement-permits a wide latitude of substantiallylarge tolerances (is. loose fit) between the Walls of orifice 12 and 14whenunder pressure, the sealing characteristics of this connectionimproving as the pressure within chamber 11 builds .up, this actionbeing somewhat similar in this respect to the self-sealing action of anO-ring seal. In

order to obtain the most advantageous effect nodule 24,

or preferably plug 13, should be formed of resilient material such as amoderately resilient rubber or plastic,

with the complementary element (i.e. either plug 13 or i nodule 24,preferably nodule 13) being preferably formed of a morerigid materialsuch as a hard plastic, hard rubber, or other suitable material. It willbe apparent,

construction is conhowever, that while this preferred sidered mostadvantageous, other combinations of materials might be employed ifdesired (e.g. both nodule 24 and plug 13 of sameor similar material).

The nodule 24 is preferably tear-drop shaped, as illustrated in FIGURE1, as it has been found that this shape gives very strongmissile-holding resistance and sudden release, while permitting ease ofinsertion of the 3 stem 23 and nodule 24 into orifice 12. It is furtherpreferable that the recess 14 be formed intermediate the ends of orificei2, and most preferably near the exit end thereof, in order to yield themost effective sealing action while also yielding most sudden releaseaction.

At the free end of stem 23 there is formed a chemical pellet holder,preferably in the form of a recess or open end bore 28. The end recess28 is employed to hold a pellet 30 of material (e.g. carbide) which iswater-reactive (or reactive to such other liquid as may be employed) togenerate a gas upon contact therewith). In the event that a substantialtime delay is desired between stem insertion and take-off of the missilein flight it is preferable to enclose the water reactive gas generationmaterial, preferably in pellet form, in a water soluble capsule. It isfurther desirable that the gas generating pellet or capsule be lighterthan water, if possible, in order that it will rise to the upper surfaceof the water in chamber 11, whereby the undissolved portion thereof willbe less likely to be discharged through nozzle orifice 12 or tend toclog it prior to substantially complete jet ejection of the Water, butwill continue to generate gas and thereby tend to maintain or build upthe internal jet ejection pressure in chamber 11 during flight. In thisconnection it Will be apparent that light materials having comparativelylittle or no gas generating action, either soluble or insoluble, may bemixed with the main gas generating material to from a relatively lightpellet, in the event that the major gas generating material is heavierthan water. The pellet might also be made to have a lower specificgravity by making it less dense, as by more loose compacting, or whenenclosed in a capsule the capsule may contain sufficient empty air spaceto give it an overall specific gravity to at least initially floatitself and the gas generating material therein.

In operation, the operator fills the chamber 11 approximately one-thirdto one-half full of water, or other suitable liquid, and places a pelletor capsule 30 into recess 28. Stem 23 is then inserted into nozzleorifice 12 with nodule 24 being brought into engaged registry withrecess 14 and stem end recess 28. Pellet or capsule 30 then begins todissolve, and preferably rises to the surface of the water 18, whereupongas is generated and pressure within chamber 11 builds up to a pointbeyond the retaining ability of nodule and recess retainer arrangement24, 14. At this point the missile body and the base and stem 22, 23 willseparate with a sudden release action, and water 18 will begin to beejected under pressure in a jet stream out the rear end of nozzleorifice 12.

This produces a very realistic jet action effect and thereby provides aforward acting thrust on the body 11 dependent upon the mass-velocityproduct of the ejected material (i.e. water, and initially also the stemand base), with a resultant forward movement of the body at anacceleration and velocity dependent upon the thrust developed.

In FIGURE 2 there is shown a modified embodiment in which the nodulerecess retaining and supporting arrangement is employed, but employingexternally supplied water under pressure to compress entrapped air inthe rocket body and cause the firing of the rocket. In the illustratedembodiment the rocket body 10a is identical to that of FIGURE 1;however, the launcher stem 23a has a recess or bore 28:: extendingtherethrough and into the base 22a of the launcher 2011, where itconnects through a continuation thereof or a further transverse bore 29awith the interior of a conduit 32a, preferably flexible, as through themedium of a threaded coupling 34a. Conduit 32a, which may ideally be aflexible hose or tube, preferably is provided with a manual triggervalve 36a, which may be built in or removably attached thereto. Theconduit 32a has a common garden hose coupling 38a, or otherwise as maybe desired, for connection to a water faucet outlet. In operation, thebody 16a is positioned on the stem as shown, and with the coupling 38aconnected to a faucet (not shown) the water under pressure is permittedto flow into the chamber 11a of the body 100, as by opening valve 36a,or, if such a valve is not provided, by merely opening the faucet. Theair trapped in the chamber 11a, as well as any air in the conduit 32aand bores 28a, 29a, will be compressed by the water under pressureflowing into the chamber 11a. When the air inside the chamber 11a hasbeen compressed to the point where the axial force resulting from thepressure inside the chamber 11a exceds the retaining force exerted bythe nodule and groove arrangement 14a, 24a, then the body lfia willself-eject itself from the launcher stand 29a, and will beself-propelled through the air through the jet action of the waterescaping under pressure from the nozzle orifice 12a, and also at takeoff under the additional propulsive force of the water being ejectedunder pressure through the bore 28a of stem 23a. It will be readilyapparent that a battery or plurality of rockets 10a may besimultaneously or successively fired by employing parallel conduitconnections and various different valve arrangements, if so desired.

In FIGURE 3 the rocket body is identical to FIG- URES l and 2, and thelauncher 26c modified to provide for pressure build-up in the chamber110 through the use of a hand pump 43-0. The cylinder, 410 of the handpump the is iilustrated as formed integrally with the base 22c oflauncher 2%, but may be separate and connected by tubing or the like, ifdesired, particularly if remote control action is desired. An aperturedend cap 420 and plunger 44c complete the pump, while a unidirectionalball valve 460 is provided in the air flow path in the base 22c. Asidefrom pressurizing the chamber 110 through the use of a hand-operated airpump, the operation is similar to that of FIGURES l and 2 in retentionand selfreleasing action.

FIGURE 4 illustrates an application of the invention as applied to amodel boat. In this embodiment the boat body 10d is hollow and has arear nozzle block 13d formed integrally therewith or suitably securedthereto. The nozzle block 13d has an orifice 12d formed therein, intowhich is removably fitted a launcher or ejectable piston 26d, includinga stem 23d having a tear-shaped nodule 24d formed thereon, and a hollowbase 22d. The reason for making base 22d hollow is to make the launcherunit 29d lighter than water so that it will float upon being ejectedfrom the boat nozzle orifice 12d, and thereby provide for easy recovery.However, this may also be attained by forming the launcher 20d ofmaterial lighter than water if desired. The end of stem 23d has apelletreceiving recess 28:! formed therein similar to the embodiment ofFIGURE 1. The operation of this embodiment is thus similar to FIGURE 1except that the propulsive force is substantially horizontal rather thanin a vertical or vertically inclined direction as usually utilized inoperating the rocket embodiment. Additionally, there is a propulsiveforce resulting from the Water being displaced from the boat interiorinto and against the supporting body of Water, as well as the reactiveforce resulting from the jet effect.

Modified nodule-recess arrangements are illustrated in FIGURES 5-8,showing various alternative constructions which may be of use in someinstances, but which for the most part are considerably less preferablethan the tear drop arrangement employed in the embodiments of FIG- URESl, 2, 3 and 4. In FIGURE 5 the launcher 20:: has

a tapered shouldered base 22a and an invertedly or downwardly taperedlower surface formed on the nodule Me. The nozzle plug 13c has a nozzleorifice 12:; which is countersunk or flared at both its inner and outerends 14:; and 152, and thereby receives the launcher or piston member20c including stem 232, nodule Me, and base 22c, in tight complementaryfitting relation as shown. A pellet receiving recess is provided at 28c.

In FIGURE 6 the launcher or piston member 29f has a flat shouldered base22 the shoulder 21 of which seats against the adjacent outer end ofnozzle plug 137. The upper end of the stem has a more or less sphericalnodule 24 formed thereon with a pellet-receiving recess 28f formed inthe surface thereof. When the stem 23f is fully inserted as shown, thespherical nodule 24f and the shoulder 21f engage respectively the innerand outer surfaces of the nozzle plug.

The modifications of FIGURES 7 and 8 are similar to that of FIGURE 1,except that in FIGURE 7 a diamondshaped nodule 24g (with a complementarygroove in nozzle plug 1 3g) is employed, while in FIGURE 8 a nodule 24hof circular or ellipsoidal shape in cross section is utilized.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that many modificationsmight be made without departing from the scope or spirit of theinvention. It is therefore to be understood that the invention is not tobe limited by the specific illustrative embodiments, but only by thescope of the appended claims.

-I claim:

1. A self-propelled toy arrangement comprising a propelled unit and alauncher unit, said propelled unit comprising a body having a pressurechamber formed therein and a nozzle orifice connecting between saidchamber and the outside of said body, the bounding surface forming saidorifice having a continuous annular circumferential transverse recessformed therein and spaced from the outer end of said orifice, saidlauncher unit comprising a stem substantially complementary to saidorifice, said stem having a continuous circumferential nodule fonnedthereon complementary to and in substantially fluid-sealing relation tosaid recess, said nodule having on its side extending toward the outerend of said orifice a surface extending at a first average angle ofslope with respect to the longitudinal axis of said stem and saidorifice, said nodule having on its side extending toward the interior ofsaid pressure chamber a surface extending at a second average angle ofslope with respect to the longitudinal axis of said stern and saidorifice, said second average angle of slope being substantially smallerthan said first average angle of slope.

2. A toy comprising a first jet propellable object having apressurizable fluid chamber formed therein and a fluid outlet portconnecting between said chamber and the exterior of said object, asecond object, a fluid pressure responsive connection detachablyconnecting said second object to said first object in releasablerelation to said port, said connection being self-releasable in responseto fluid pressure Within said fluid chamber, a liquid-conveying portextending through said second object and connecting between said chamberand the exterior of said second object, and a threaded water hosescrew-on connection secured to said second object and in fluidconnection with said port for connection to a water faucet or waterhose.

3. A toy according to claim 2 wherein said threaded water hose screw-onconnection is a freely rotatable female connection having internalthreads formed therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS616,410 Crawley Dec. 20, 1898 1,588,040 Moore June 8, 1926 1,612,794Bender Jan. 4, 1927 2,363,592 Hunter Nov. 28, 1944 2,449,147 SamuelsSept. 14, 1948 2,521,135 Stark et al Sept. 5, 1950 2,526,225 Gronemeyeret a1 Oct. 17, 1950 2,714,269 Charles Aug. 2, 1955 2,725,868 Foster Dec.6, 1955 2,732,657 Krautkramer Jan. 31, 1956 2,733,699 Krinsky Feb. 7,1956 2,759,297 Lewis Aug. 21, 1956 2,792,669 Jackson et a1 May '21, 19572,820,321 Kuhn Ian. 21, 1958 2,826,001 Presnell Mar.'11, 1958 2,867,153Hirsch Jan. 6, 1959 2,924,041 Jackson et a1. Feb. 9, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 161,579 Australia Mar. 1, 1955

